Uncle Fish & The Crypt Creepers (Live)

Recorded live at the Philipshalle Auditorium in Düsseldorf, Germany, on July 12, 1991, Uncle Fish & the Crypt Creepers is just one in a series of four separate Griffin Music live DAT recordings (committed to four different double-CD releases) that cover Fish's Internal Exile tour. Although not as good as Pigpen's Birthday, this collection is still a worthy document for fans interested in the live Fish experience. Kicking off the set with standard tour openers "Vigil in a Wilderness of Mirrors" and "Credo," it's immediately clear that the band lacks the rhythm-section oomph and input of the departed brothers Brzezicki. Replacing the formidable duo with bassist David Paton and drummer Kevin Wilkinson, the band's gel is slightly altered, muting its attack in the process. The set is off to a slow start and doesn't really pick up steam until the fifth song, the Marillion classic "Incubus." The track simply smokes. Colored by some excellent crowd participation, "Incubus" is triumphant. Throughout, and prior to "Shadowplay" and "Dear Friend," with his solid command of the German language, Fish regales his audience with a series of what appear to be hilarious song introductions. Disc two gets underway with the fantastic "The Company." As always, the crowd responds fanatically to the "Boys won't you drink to me" part, propelling the song to extraordinary heights. A heavy political diatribe during which the Scot admits that the world is indeed one "f*cked-up place" introduces the classic tale of claustrophobic loneliness, "Fugazi." "Fugazi" gives way to "Internal Exile," which turns into the wild jig of another Marillion warhorse, the always-reliable "Market Square Heroes" with the audience filling in the chorus bits at every turn. The proceedings come to an end with a goosebump-inducing version of another Marillion tune, a ten-minute version of "Forgotten Sons." As fate would have it, it's probably the best thing on this entire release. Curiously, the track is not sequenced properly and appears as part two of track seven on disc two. For all you collectors out there, please note that "Forgotten Sons" is taken from a Paris gig at the Olympia theater in September of 1991 and not from the Düsseldorf show.